Biodiversity and Ecological System

Abstract

With the rapid development of economic globalization and informatization, transport has become increasingly important. Apart from offering people convenience, it also speeds up logistics, and information and cultural exchanges between regions, thus mutually tackling the weak links in development.

1.1 Nairobi–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway (Phase I)

With the rapid development of economic globalization and informatization, transport has become increasingly important. Apart from offering people convenience, it also speeds up logistics, and information and cultural exchanges between regions, thus mutually tackling the weak links in development. The underdeveloped transport in Africa has seriously constrained regional economic development and hampered the improvement of people’s livelihood. Meanwhile, the unique natural geographic environment and high levels of biodiversity in Africa pose a huge challenge to long-distance and large-scale projects like railways. The Nairobi–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) (Phase I), built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), tried to minimize the environmental impact in project design. Therefore, while pressing ahead with infrastructure construction, it realized ecological protection and offered support and guarantee for the implementation of Goal 15 of SDGs: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.

1.1.1 Background

The Nairobi–Malaba SGR, a flagship project in Kenya Vision 2030,¹ starts from Nairobi and terminates in Malaba, a city bordering Uganda, with a total length of 489.57 km. Following its completion, the railway will connect to the Mombasa–Nairobi SGR and domestic railways in Uganda, and gradually connect to railways in Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, thus forming the “main artery” of public transport in Eastern Africa, and further advancing sub-regional interconnectivity and integration across Eastern Africa.

1.1.2 Project Overview

As the extension of the Mombasa–Nairobi SGR, the Nairobi–Malaba SGR adopted the technical standards, and construction and management model of the former. It was designed according to China’s national class I railway standards, with the CCCC undertaking design, construction and procurement as the EPC² contractor. The SGR will be constructed in three phases. Phase I runs 120.4 km from Nairobi to Naivasha and will be used to carry both passengers and goods. The designed speed is 120 km/h for passenger trains, and 80 km/h for freight trains. The construction of Phase I formally started in January 2018 and was put into operation in October 2019.

On the morning of October 16, 2019, at the inauguration ceremony, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta remarked that Phase I of the Nairobi–Malaba SGR will bring about more development opportunities for inland Kenya and other neighboring inland countries including Uganda, South Sudan and Burundi, and also consolidate Kenya’s position as the regional transportation and logistics hub (Fig. 1.1).³

Fig. 1.1

Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta attended the inauguration ceremony

1.1.3 Boosting Local Employment and Technological Development

During its construction, the Nairobi–Malaba SGR (Phase I) employed over 26,000 local workers, accounting for about 90% of the total employees, among which 45% were technical and managerial staff. In addition, the constructor also cooperated with over 400 local material suppliers and over 100 sub-contractors, creating more than 20,000 job positions in an indirect manner. The project has promoted the development of Kenya’s cement, steel and transportation industries. Chinese enterprises assisted suppliers with funding, technology and management, thus contributing to local industrial upgrading. Meanwhile, the project has also cultivated many local technical staff who help the country gradually realize independent operation of the railway.

Railway construction requires large quantities of reinforcing bars (rebars). The Nairobi–Malaba SGR (Phase I) winds its way through the fault zone of the Great Rift Valley, and the complicated geological conditions means that the railway should be able to withstand earthquakes. However, the local industry was incapable of producing such rebars, and imported earthquake-resistant rebars were costly and time-consuming with high carbon footprint. This added difficulties to project construction. Facing this dilemma, the CCCC entered into cooperation with Prime Steel Mills Co., Ltd. in Kenya. The CCCC invited Chinese experts and sent technical staff from its laboratory to conduct joint research and development (R&D) with the technical team of Prime Steel Mills, so that the latter could reliably produce standard earthquake-resistant rebars. The project settled the issue of urgent supply and purchase of earthquake-resistant rebars, reduced procurement cost and carbon footprint, and ensured that construction was advanced as scheduled. During the process, Prime Steel Mills improved its production techniques, which brings the company more local orders.

1.1.4 Protecting the Migration Corridors of Wildlife

To protect vegetation in the park, the construction work was divided into several stages with land reclamation along the way, so as to keep the original land and plants intact. To minimize the impact of construction, the working plane of the project was only 40 m wide compared with the nearly 120 km² park.

To ensure free passage of wildlife, especially giraffes and other large animals, the Nairobi–Malaba SGR (Phase I) adopted the blueprint that proposes to build a 6.5 km-long bridge traversing the park, with the shortest pier being 7.5 m and the tallest 41.5 m, making it the longest single-track railway bridge in Eastern Africa. In addition, the bridge is also equipped with noise barriers to reduce noise when trains pass, so as to minimize the impact on wildlife (Fig. 1.2).

Fig. 1.2

Nairobi national park bridge

1.1.5 Collecting Materials According to Local Conditions to Protect the Rivers

Sand is an important material of concrete making. Most areas in Kenya lack water and river sand all year round. Also, due to its focus on environmental protection, river sand mining is restricted. To protect the ecological environment, the project only used machine-made sand, which brought about another challenge. Most machine-made sand is made of limestone in China, which cannot be found along the Nairobi–Malaba SGR. Instead, there is igneous rock.⁴ Facing this, the CCCC brought domestic experts together to conduct technical research and eventually applied machine-made sand made of igneous rock to the construction of railway concrete. The successful application of such sand in the Nairobi–Malaba SGR remarkably reduced transportation cost and energy consumption, shortened the construction period, and reduced carbon emissions, thus producing significant economic, environmental and social benefits.

The Standard, one of the most influential media in Kenya, wrote that construction of the Nairobi–Malaba SGR (Phase I) utilized machine-made sand made of local igneous rock to replace traditional “river sand,” which should be widely used in infrastructure projects in Kenya as it catered to local conditions, saved energy and protected the environment. The report pointed out that igneous rock is abundant in the fault zone of Kenya, but it is not effectively exploited yet. The technique developed as part of the Nairobi–Malaba SGR offered an approach to developing idle igneous rock resources in the local area. In the meantime, collecting igneous rock locally also provides an environmentally friendly, efficient and energy-efficient solution to the construction of railways, roads and buildings in fault zones, and helps reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of a large number of projects.

1.2 New Container Terminal Project of Tema, Ghana

The construction area of the New Container Terminal Project in Tema, Ghana is one of the main spawning grounds of sea turtles in Western Africa. During the construction process, special attention was paid to monitoring their living environment and keeping away from their breeding grounds. Meanwhile, a “sea turtle breeding center” was put together within the red line to strengthen the in-situ conservation of sea turtles. The center cooperated with the Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS), invited professionals to guide their incubation, and formed a special patrol for sea turtle protection. By 2019, a total of 11,114 baby sea turtles had been incubated and set free, which significantly contributed to their conservation and ecological balance, improved local awareness of environmental and wildlife protection, and set an example for implementing SDG15 in infrastructure construction.

1.2.1 Background

The New Container Terminal Project of Tema, Ghana, situated in the Gulf of Guinea in Western Africa, is Ghana’s largest waterborne construction project so far. Following its expansion, the Tema Port will become an important freight hub of Western Africa, which is not only capable of loading and unloading the largest container ships in the world, but also providing high-quality and user-friendly port infrastructure and service for the whole world.

1.2.2 Project Overview

Undertaken by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC), the construction of the project was commenced in July 2016 and finished in June 2020. The CHEC built a 3,558-m breakwater, four deep-water container berths with a total length of 1,400 m, 121-hectare land reclamation with dredged sediment and foundation treatment, harbor basins and foundation trench dredging, revetment construction and ancillary facilities, so as to accommodate advanced handling facilities and large vessels (Fig. 1.3).

Fig. 1.3

Aerial view of the port

1.2.3 Strict Environmental Protection Measures

The project actively fulfilled its social responsibilities. An environmental baseline study and EIA were carried out before construction, with corresponding environmental certificates secured. Meanwhile, an environmental management plan for the construction period was formulated to handle environmental issues and their impacts during the construction period in a detailed and comprehensive manner. This included the impact of dredging and land reclamation activities on the receptor environment, the impact of discharge into the atmosphere and dust, the impact of noise and vibration, the impact of traffic, the potential impact of dredging on surface water and turbid plume, the impact on marine ecology and biodiversity, the impact on soil and groundwater, the production and management of waste during construction, the impact on terrestrial ecology and biodiversity, as well as the impact on coastlines. The project went all out to avoid pollution and destruction, in order to satisfy the requirements of the IFC (World Bank), Ghana Environment Protection Agency (GWS), other licensing conditions and general environmental requirements in terms of health, safety, public order, environment and social responsibility.

The project spent much in developing the capability of environmental monitoring, including RMB 307,600 invested in two Honeywell MultiRAE Lite gas detectors, two EPAM-5000 dust and particle detectors, and two CASELLA CEL-246 noise meters/noise detectors, a special environmental monitoring team that continuously conducted monitoring every week, and special vehicles that monitor the ecological environment at the construction site in the Tema Port and self-run quarry 60 km away. There were also vehicles spraying water in designated areas, so as to effectively reduce the total suspended particles. Temporary waste storage points and oil stacking points were also set up at the construction site, enabling daily monitoring of waste oil and residues.

1.2.4 Sea Turtle Breeding Center

The spawning period for sea turtles lasts from October to April in the following year, and the beach at the construction site is one of their main spawning grounds in Western Africa. Also, sea turtles are one of the animals protected by local laws. Considering the impact of construction progress on the original beach where sea turtles were incubated, the project team decided to carry out in-situ conservation, so as to ensure that their breeding is not disturbed and that ecological balance within the construction area is maintained.

For the personnel of the project, the protection of sea turtles is a brand-new challenge. Through communication with the Ghana Environment Protection Agency, Forestry Commission, Wildlife Division and Fisheries Commission, the project team came into contact with the GWS, signed the monitoring agreement of marine mammals-sea turtles, and invited professionals from the GWS for on-site guidance on sea turtle conservation.

Following on-site inspection and communication with multiple parties, the team decided to open up a special area west to the east revetment of Phase I and in front of the camp to build a “sea turtle breeding center” similar to their incubation environment in line with the guidance of technical experts. Having received training by technical experts, a group of people took charge of the protection and monitoring of sea turtles. Specifically, they collected sea turtles’ eggs within the red line and on nearby beaches, and put them into the spawning pool, so that the eggs could be looked after and hatched together. Another piece of local beach named Sakumono was chosen to set these baby sea turtles free following assessment by local experts (Fig. 1.4).

Fig. 1.4

Exteriors the “Sea Turtle Breeding Center”

The “sea turtle breeding center” should be built in a relatively quiet place which is not affected by night lighting, and the foundation should be made relatively higher than the surroundings with dry, fine sand. Since metal structures will affect the inherent navigation abilities of baby sea turtles, metal cannot be used to build the spawning pool. For this reason, the project team used some PVC tubes from construction materials to build the main structure of the spawning area which spans for nearly 50m² and could accommodate more than 40 nests of sea turtle eggs.

Sea turtles mainly lay eggs at night, and their spawning grounds can generally be found through their flipper prints on the sand. However, as they are relatively alert to white light, once discovered, they should be tracked with soft red light. When moving sea turtle eggs, a thin layer of fine sand should be put at the bottom of the container, and the eggs should be handled gently. After returning to the breeding base, a 20 cm wide and 50 cm deep hole similar to their nest used for spawning in nature should be dug, and sea turtles should be placed in the hole with the sand put back. Outside the spawning area is the fence and resting facilities, where the monitoring staff took shifts day and night, and filled in the patrol and observation record. The incubation period of sea turtle eggs is roughly 45 to 60 days. After discovering signs of incubation, the monitoring staff would inform technical experts and project managers immediately, and the managerial personnel would coordinate in the work to set baby sea turtles free (Fig. 1.5).

Fig. 1.5

Sea turtle caring professionals sending baby sea turtles home

With regard to finding sea turtles, moving turtle eggs, digging incubation nests, detailed conditions for sea turtles’ incubation, as well as site selection and technical requirements for building the “breeding center”, professionals from the GWS organized special training sessions for the project team. All the staff responsible for protecting and patrolling sea turtles, observing their incubation and setting baby sea turtles free can only take their job after training.

Following professional suggestions, the project dispatched six people for 24-h patrolling of the beach in turn, with special staff keeping a record, and a specialist responsible for sea turtles’ breeding. Meanwhile, the project also employed six local villagers to help with sea turtle protection at the beach close to the construction site by patrolling the beach every night.

By June 1, 2019, a total of 15,255 sea turtle eggs were collected by the project team of the Tema Port, and 11,114 hatched, representing 86.8% of the total (under natural conditions, the hatching rate is normally between 10 and 20%).

In addition, the project team also promoted the knowledge of sea turtle protection in nearby schools, boosting the awareness of environmental protection (Fig. 1.6).

Fig. 1.6

Publicity activities on environmental protection on campus

1.2.5 Main Experience of the Project

The New Container Terminal Project of Tema has made remarkable achievements in protecting local ecology and is widely appreciated for the endeavor. Four pieces of experience are summarized as follows:

• 1. When selecting the site for the project, it is necessary to investigate the environment thoroughly beforehand, and visit local fishery committees, municipal councils, environmental protection bureaus, fire departments, marine bureaus, mining bureaus, as well as organizations such as local communities, schools and churches, in order to collect their suggestions and advice on the environmental protection work of the project, and coordinate relationships between these stakeholders in advance.

• 2. In the course of construction, staff should be arranged to continuously monitor the environment, including but not limited to the monitoring of surface water quality and air quality (including the monitoring of the working environment at quarries, environmental monitoring of traffic lines). Wastes should go through regular classified treatment, and repositories for chemicals and signboards should be set up. Trainings in environmental protection, such as emergency exercises for marine oil spills, field training in the prevention of oil spills, and clearance of oil spills on the spot, should be carried out periodically.

• 3. If the project will inevitably have an effect on local wildlife, the project team should actively communicate and cooperate with local governmental institutions, put forward corresponding protection plans as soon as possible, and keep track of any change in the ecological environment nearby. The monitoring results should be recorded continuously.

• 4. With regard to project impact, both the construction sites and neighboring areas should be taken into account. And construction plans should be developed accordingly, and construction techniques improved. The location of spoil grounds and waste treatment sites should be properly selected, so as not to cause surface runoff and rainfall erosion, or other ecological damage in the construction area.